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MOGADISHU ATTACK: 25 dead, 131 injured-police report

Storyline:National News, Security

SUMMARY

  • 25 people dead, 131 injured
  • 20 shops, restaurants and homes destroyed
  • 15 vehicles damaged
  • Body of 7 months old boy recovered three days later

A total of 25 people were killed in the Thursday deadly bombing that rocked the capital Mogadishu while a further 131 people were injured, police said Monday evening as the body of a seven months old boy was pulled from the rubble.

The police report indicated that out of the casualties, 21 were female. The attack which happened at about 8.30 PM local time Thursday left in its wake death and destruction leaving most of the buildings within the Maka al Mukarama area in ruin.

According to the police report, 20 hotels shops, restaurants and homes were destroyed in addition to 15 vehicles; eight of them auto-rickshaws.

Security forces who battled the Al-Shabaab militants holed up in one of the buildings for about 22 hours managed to rescue several people who had been trapped in the buildings among them an elderly woman. Shortly after the first blast outside Maka al Mukarama hotel, the militants moved into one of the buildings and engaged security forces in fire exchange until Friday evening when the last one was gunned down by Special Forces.

7 MONTHS OLD BABY

Meanwhile, the body of a seven months old boy was recovered from the rubble last evening, three days since the attack happened. Families moved in Saturday to the scene of the attack in search of their loved ones and the recovery of the 7 months old baby last evening added to three the number of bodies pulled out of the rubble after the attack.

The attack which happened at night was a rare case for Al-Shabaab which has been known to conduct its attacks during the day particularly on Fridays. The attack was also unique as it was one of the longest sieges mounted by the militants in recent memory.

Information minister Dahir Gelle said the militants had used some of the people in the building as human shields making it difficult for the forces to pin them down.